like a ray of sunshine in the darkness
by Slytherin Cat
Summary: After Ron cheated on her, she never thought she'd feel this happy again. But then she met him - again - and fell for him even harder than she had had for Ron. Dramione, through a drabble collection.
1. A Goodbye

So here I am with another drabble collection… I think.

This drabble is written for the Harry Potter Spell Competition (Impervius: write about a character that makes the decision of not having anything to do with something), the As Strong As We Are United Competition and the Double or Nothing Competition (100 words).

_Word count: _105

**A Goodbye**

"I don't ever want to have anything to do with you again!"

The door slams to his face, but Hermione doesn't feel better. It should feel like closure, but it doesn't, and she should feel good – but instead she just feels lost.

So she crumbles down at the back of her door and cries. She cries, because she's sad, and then she screams, because she's angry and then she pleads because she wants him to come back.

There's nothing she wants more than forgive him, but she can't. This time Ron went too far, and she'll have to learn to live without him.


	2. Broken Pieces

Drabble written for the As Strong as We Are United Competition (prompt: sunshine), the Double or Nothing Competition (200 words), the Wand Wood Competition (Beech).

_Word count: _217

**Broken Pieces**

Turned out that getting rid of someone wasn't as easy as it sounded.

There was sunshine outside, but it looked wrong. Hermione felt that no one should have a right to be happy right now, not when she felt so bad. Seeing the sun high in the sky and hearing birds singing felt like a personal insult, and she wanted nothing more than for them to shut up and leave her alone.

Never mind that she was oh so truly alone in that too big flat.

She had closed the blinds in an attempt to ward herself from the outside world, but all it did was show her just how much of himself _he_ had left in what had been their home.

Each time she saw one, she had the same reaction. She screamed, hurled spells at it or just threw it as far as she could and watched it break with intense satisfaction, and then it hit her – what was happening – and she held the broken pieces of whatever the objects had been to her just as broken heart and cried. And then it began again with something else.

The last thing she remembered was taking a glass and a bottle of whiskey out after she noticed her wedding ring, still on her hand.


	3. Freedom

Drabble written for the As Strong As We Are United Competition (prompts sunshine and raindrops), the HP Potions Competition (Weakness Potion), the Quidditch Position Competition (Seeker) and because I felt like it :p

Please review!

_Word count: _231

**Freedom**

By the next time Hermione managed to haul herself out of the flat nearly a week had passed. She considered herself fortunate that even though stupid, Ron had at least known it was better for him not to show up.

If he had, she wasn't sure what she would have done. Seeing the blur in which the days had gone by and the state the place had been in, she feared something would have happened to him she'd have regretted. Not because he wouldn't have deserved it – because heaven knows he did – but because she probably wouldn't have remembered it, like she couldn't remember most of the past days.

Leaving the place was something she highly needed, and now that she had come back to her senses she felt deeply ashamed of what she had done. It was not like her, and even after vanishing all the broken items and repairing the rest of the damages, she wanted to feel the wind on her skin and breathe fresh air. Anything to help her get her mind of the fact her fiancé had betrayed her.

Of course, when she stepped outside, it was raining. When she had wanted rain, she got sunshine, and now that she longed for warmth, she got icy raindrops.

It didn't matter though. She needed this, and maybe – just maybe – the rain would wash her memories off.


	4. Friendly Help

Drabble written for the As Strong As We Are United Competition.

Please review :)

_Word count:_ 260

**Friendly Help**

"Hermione, Hermione! Are you listening to me?"

Hermione's head snapped back up, and she found herself looking in the concerned brown eyes of her friend. When Ginny had shown up, she nearly hadn't let her in. The fiery red hair was almost too much of a reminder of him, but then she remembered that she was strong. She wouldn't let him rule her life, and Ginny was a part of her life she didn't want to let go of.

"Yeah, of course I am. It's just…" _You remind me of Ron_, was what she was going to say, but the words stayed stuck in her throat.

"Oh. I'm so sorry Hermione. I didn't think you would… I'll go. If you don't want me to stay here, I'll understand," Ginny said, laying her hand on Hermione's comfortably for a moment, squeezing it in a show of comfort.

"No, you can stay. Just because your brother's stupid and a bastard doesn't mean I should stop being friend with you, don't worry."

"Yeah, at least you got that right. I can't believe he'd do that to you. I mean, we all knew something was wrong with him but to do this? And to you? Seriously, I can't believe he cheated on you! Of all the worthless and cowardly things to do…"

While Ginny ranted, Hermione discovered she couldn't fight back a smile at her friend's anger on her behalf. To know she wasn't the only one hating the redhead for his actions was… pleasant.

Perhaps she was finally beginning to heal…


	5. Going Back To Work

Drabble written for the One Shot a day Competition and the As Strong As We Are United Competition.

_Word count:_ 238

**Going Back To Work**

Going back to work turned out to be much easier than she had thought it would be. Perhaps it was because it had always been something she truly loved doing, and also something she had never been able to make Ron understand. Thus there were no real fond memories with him there, and it made coming back easier.

She had taken a week off to be with him – celebrate their five years anniversary – and in the end she had ended up spending that time alone, cursing his name.

But coming back to her small office in the Department of Mysteries, where she had been working for almost as long as she had been dating Ron, made her realize that maybe they weren't mean to be.

After all, what did they have in common apart from having been in the same house? They had always been more Harry's friends than friends with each other, and she would be, was, better off without him.

Books had been her first friends, and Ron had never understood that she chose a job that required more sitting and research than action.

It didn't take her long to resume her latest project from where she had left it and settle back into the easy routine of trying to recreate old spells. She never noticed she was smiling as she promised herself to choose someone who could understand her next time.


	6. Nostalgia

_Word count:_ 171

**Nostalgia**

It was both harder and easier than she thought it would be to get used to working again. Avoiding Ron was no problem for her – they had completely different schedules after all, and she was skilled at avoiding people she didn't want to talk to.

Still, her mind couldn't help but wander toward what ifs and could have beens when she took her coffee in the cup he had gifted her for their five months anniversary. Perhaps she should find a new hobby… And a new cup too.

Perhaps not though. She liked that cup, with the small glittering runes engraved on it and she wasn't about to get rid of it because Ron had given it to her. It would be too easy, and she was stronger than those simpering girls who spent their days crying and bawling their eyes out at each and every break-ups.

No, she would go on with her life, and just keep the fond memories of their time together for when she felt blue.


	7. New Job

_Word count:_220

**New Job**

It's not even two weeks since she came back to work when Hermione hears about the new assignments. Apparently the Wizengamot is pushing them to do more work in the Time department – which is ridiculous, considering the Wizengamot shouldn't have that kind of power on the Unspeakables, but her boss has always been kind of stupid so what else can she do but obey the orders?

_(and if she protests loudly while doing it, well, she can always blame it on 'personal problems she's dealing with'. And no, she doesn't feel bad about using her recent break-up to get left alone. She really does want to be left alone after all.)_

The file ends up on her desk the next day, and the man who delivers it _(her superior so she can't inadvertently spill her coffee on him – what a shame)_ wears a nasty smile that almost makes her shiver.

Almost, because she's seen things much scarier.

She opens the file, and her first thought is 'No way in Hell'. Her second is that she should have taken more vacations, because she is nowhere near ready for that. Her third is that there must be a mistake.

There, written clearly on the first page is the name of her future partner for this project.

And it's _Draco Malfoy_.


	8. Preparing Herself

_Word count:_266

**Preparing Herself**

Fortunately, she had received the assignment on a Friday, which means she had the whole week-end to hide in your flat and try to deny the truth.

Unfortunately, the week-end came to an end too quickly to her tastes and she has to go back to her work and face the music.

She had tried to rationalize this decision for two whole days, but all she had come up with was how unfair this whole situation was, and half an hour of yelling at Ginny about how she wanted the job but didn't want the partner, even if she no longer hated Malfoy and felt rather indifferent to his person.

_(At the end of the war, his family had been held on trial for their crimes, and his father had gone back to a Dementors-less Azkaban, while his mother had been fined heavily, but more-or-less left alone. Draco himself had had to make a public excuse for his acts, and he had been sent to St Mungo's to talk to a therapist about his supremacist beliefs._

_But he hadn't really done anything truly bad himself, and a few months later he had personally apologized to her, Harry and strangely more reluctantly Ron about his previous behavior._

_She hadn't seen much of him since, except a hint of blond hair here and there in the Ministry.)_

It's lucky she's always been able to separate feelings and work, because otherwise she would have hit him as she found herself staring at his typical 'I'm-better-than-you' smirk on Monday morning.

It was going to be a long year.


End file.
